UI Student Panics in Jakarta Angkot, Jumps to Her Death

A university student, afraid she was about to be raped, jumped from a moving public minibus on Wednesday after the driver refused to stop in North Jakarta.

Annisa Azwar died four days later at Atmajaya Hospital, in Pluit, North Jakarta, from a injuries sustained in her fall.

The vehicle’s driver, Jamal, said her death was a tragic case of mistaken intentions. But her family argued that Annisa must’ve had a good reason to leap from a moving vehicle.

The woman’s family told Indonesian media that the 20-year-old University of Indonesia nursing student boarded a U-10 public minibus (angkot) at Kota Station to visit her aunt in Pademangan, North Jakarta. But she reportedly got into the wrong angkot and ended up in Tanah Pasir, North Jakarta.

When all the passengers exited the vehicle, Annisa reportedly felt unsafe. Annisa then texted her uncle Wendi and told him she was afraid Jamal was going to rape her, according to Kompas.com. She asked the driver to stop in Pekajon Roya, but he refused.

It was then that Annisa, scared and alone, jumped from the moving vehicle. The angkot was traveling between 30 and 40 kilometers an hour. She suffered serious injuries and was taken to Atmajaya Hospital in a bajaj.

She died on Sunday from a brain injury.

Her relative Asep told Detik.com that Annisa must’ve had her reasons for jumping from the vehicle.

“She’s a university student, there is no way she jumped out of the car without noticing anything suspicious,” Asep said.

Instances of rape and kidnappings aboard angkots have become increasingly common in Jakarta. At least eight women have been kidnapped or raped by angkot drivers in the greater Jakarta region in the past year.

Jamal was arrested and charged with negligence that resulted in someone’s death. He faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison if convicted.

The Jakarta Transportation Agency promised tough penalties for Jamal.

“If he is proven to be guilty, his permit [to drive an angkot] will be revoked,” agency head Udar Pristono said.

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